Guilt
by aquaXtreme
Summary: When someone dies because of your failure, what're you supposed to do?


_**Hey guys! This is the first story I've posted here which ISN'T a challenge (you all must be so relieved) but it is for Cloaks and Daggers' birthday! Woooo! Happy Birthday!**_

_**This turned out a bit more...angsty (though I wouldn't exactly classify it as angst) than I intended it to be but I still hope you guys enjoy it! :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Young Justice or How to Save a Life by The Fray. If I did own Young Justice, I'd have already made all the episodes before hand and have them airing now! But I don't so what can you do?**_

_**Anyway, read on and hope you enjoy it :)**_

* * *

It's their fault.

Wally knows it is. Even though everyone is trying to blame it on the difficulty of their mission and the pressure, it is their fault. The heavy silence tells him that they know. That lying to themselves isn't helping. It's because of their lack of everything that they failed their mission and somebody...

And somebody had gotten in the middle of it all. Somebody is dead.

And it's all their fault.

_Step one you say we need to talk,  
__He walks you say sit down it's just a talk,  
__He smiles politely back at you,  
__You stare politely right on through._

The team enters Mount Justice silently. No one has the heart to speak or break the tense atmosphere. Least of all him.

Superboy leaves the spaced out group first, not bothering to say anything or alert anyone to where he's going. He just goes. Eventually Kaldur follows his example, exiting with a softly spoken 'goodnight'. Robin glances at the speedster through masked eyes, opens his mouth to say something but thinks better of it and leaves, the shadows eventually swallowing him up.

_Some sort of window to your right,  
__He goes left and you go right,  
__Between the lines of fear and blame,  
__And you begin to wonder why you came._

It's just him, Artemis and Megan left in the otherwise empty room and the silence is, ironically, deafening. He wants someone to say something; to reassure him but no one does. Part of him doesn't want them to. Part of him just wants to run. Just run to wherever and forget about everything.

Wally turns and starts walking out, planning to do just that. But he knows he won't. He can't.

"Where are you going?"

He stops at the blonde's question. He knows he should answer back but he can't speak. The mission was too much. Instead, he walks out on them.

_Where did I go wrong?  
__I lost a friend,  
__Somewhere along in the bitterness,  
__And I would have stayed up with you all night,  
__Had I known how to save a life._

Wally slumps onto the sandy beach and stares blankly at the scene in front of him. Images of the failed mission keeps reappearing in his head and he starts scrutinizing every move he made, wondering if that woman would still be alive if he'd done something differently. What if he'd rescued her before taking down the henchmen? What if he'd run that bit faster? What if he'd gone straight for that machine and then that woman? What if...

He runs a hand through his messy red hair and lets out a sigh, knowing that everything he does now won't change the fact that an innocent civilian died. But he can't help wondering _what if...?_

Wally grabs a few pebbles and starts hurling them into the sea. He throws each stone harder than the one before, his anger and frustration evident in the viciousness of his throws. When he's finished, he realises that he's breathing heavily. Extremely heavily. But he couldn't care less. He just wants more pebbles to throw into the vast amount of water. He wants to let his frustration and pent up anger out on something. He wants to go back in time and stop that woman from dying so that he doesn't have to feel what he's feeling now.

_Let him know that you know best,  
__Cause after all you do know best,  
__Try to slip past his defence,  
__Without granting innocence._

"Are you alright?"

Wally can easily recognise that voice without turning around. So he doesn't bother. He just picks up a couple more pebbles and starts throwing harder than ever before.

"Do I look alright?" He snarls. He realises that his statement comes out harsher than he intended it to but he doesn't care.

He can feel the blonde archer staring at him and every move he makes. It's so intense that he finally snaps, whirling around to face her.

"What do you want?" Wally shouts, his eyes ablaze with fury. "Are you here to tease the crap out of me? How about to criticize me on how much I failed during that last mission?"

When she doesn't reply, he takes a deep breath.

"No scathing reply? No biting remark?" He lets out a bitter laugh. "I should be the one checking if you're the one who's alright."

He sits down on the beach, his back towards her, and gazes at the rippling sea. He suddenly hopes that none of Kaldur's friends got hit with his pebbles. He doesn't need another dead person on his shoulders. Wally notices that Artemis is now on the floor next to him and they both remain there in silence. It's oddly comforting to him.

_Lay down a list of what is wrong,  
__The things you've told him all along,  
__And pray to God he hears you,  
__And pray to God he hears you._

"When I was 10, I used to have a best friend, Mona. She was sweet, kind, a teensy bit bossy but, overall, the nicest person I'd ever met," Artemis begins and Wally wonders why she's telling him this. But he doesn't interrupt. He suddenly develops an urge to hear the end of this story.

"I was extremely cocky then. I had so much faith in my abilities and I thought that I could do anything if I put my mind to it."

He glances at her but she isn't looking at him; she's gazing at the distance but he knows she isn't focusing on the sea or the moon but rather a past memory.

"Then, one day, there was a fire. I don't know how it started but there it was. I remember being in the woods then, practicing my archery. When I say practicing, I mean showing off. I was showing off my skills to all the other children. One minute I'm gloating, the next there's a smell of burning so intense that it starts hurting my eyes. I realised that it was coming from the village so I ran. I ran faster than ever and when I arrived, half of the village was already burned to the ground. The other half were still covered with flames that were unbelievably high."

"I started helping out some families who were still stuck inside when someone asked where Mona was. I didn't know. I thought that she was with everyone else but, when I checked, she wasn't. I told someone and they said that they'd send some adults to get her. I was so sure of myself that, instead of waiting like I was supposed to, I went myself."

Wally starts getting a sense of where the story is heading but he doesn't say anything.

"I ran inside her house only to find pieces of flaming wood everywhere. The smoke was starting to sting my eyes and my voice started croaking but I still kept on. I finally found her but she was stuck and unconscious. Her legs were under something that was too heavy for me to move. Plus, it was on fire. I tried getting her out but I couldn't. I remember screaming for help but I don't think anyone could hear us. I should've gone to fetch someone but I didn't want to leave her. So, there I stood. A cocky ten year old with her best friend unconscious and unable to help. I honest to God thought that I was going to die there and then."

_Where did I go wrong,  
__I lost a friend,  
__Somewhere along the bitterness,  
__And I would have stayed up with you all night,  
__Had I known how to save a life._

"How'd you get out?" Wally finally asks. She looks at him and he sees the unbridled pain in her eyes.

"It wasn't until some of the adults that were sent to find Mona arrived. By then, my voice was so sore I couldn't say anything. But they managed to get us out safely and she was taken to hospital. I was treated for injuries but they were minor. Mona, on the other hand, had to go through hours of extensive surgery."

"She didn't make it," Artemis' voice starts breaking and Wally can hear the pure agony in her voice. "The doctors told us that there wasn't anything they could do and she...she died."

Tears start leaking out of her eyes and drip down her cheeks. Wally doesn't know what to do; he's never seen this side of her before. So he just sits there awkwardly.

_As he begins to raise his voice,  
__You lower yours and grant him one last chance,  
__Drive until you lose the road,  
__Or break with the ones you've followed.  
__He will do one of two things,  
__He will admit to everything,  
__Or he'll say he's just not the same,  
__And you begin to wonder why you came._

Artemis takes a deep breath and faces him.

"So when someone dies, you can't do anything but move on. It hurts but you get used to the hollow pain and then, eventually, it'll start fading. But it won't disappear. It'll never completely leave. 'What if's aren't going to help you. All they'll do is make your life even crappier than it was before."

With that, she hurriedly wipes the tear tracks off her face and looks at anything but him.

"Tell anyone about this and I'll tear out your eyeballs and stuff them down your throat so you can get a front row seat to watch me rip the flesh off your carcass piece by piece," Artemis threatens, sniffing all the while.

"That's the sarcastic and down right rude Artemis we all know and hate," Wally snorts, glaring at the blonde next to him. She gives him a withering look but doesn't say anything else.

He guesses that she's right. For the thousandth time, he goes over that fateful mission. He examines everything he's done but, this time, he does it to see where he went wrong. He'll improve that fault and move on but he is never going to forget about that. His conscience won't let him.

They sit in silence, the breeze whipping their cheeks and hair. Wally doesn't know what to do next; he's never been good with moments like this. So, instead, he reaches over and takes her hand in his, his thumb gently grazing her hand. She looks at him with shock but she doesn't retract her's.

"Thank you," He whispers into her ear. He doesn't wait for a reply; he knows she won't give one.

They sit like that, in each other's company, with the waves lapping gently against the shore until dawn starts breaking.

_Where did I go wrong,  
__I lost a friend,  
__Somewhere along in the bitterness,  
__And I would have stayed up with you all night,  
__Had I known how to save a life._

_How to save a life._

* * *

**Well, hopefully the characters seemed alright and don't hate me since it's my first time writing a song-fic and an angsty one so...well, there's a first time for everything, right? **

**Oh, and the little 'tear out your carcass' thing from Artemis was my adaptation from something Eve said in Alpha and Omega. Not the best movie ever but still pretty good :)**

**Once again, Happy Birthday Cloaks and Daggers! Hopefully you'll have a great day! :D**

**Please leave a review guys (if not for me, then for Cloaks and Daggers)!**

**Anyway, hope you thoroughly enjoyed this and see you next time :)**


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